Store-service apparatus



(No Model.)

M. CLARK.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.

Patented Dec WITNESSES NTTBD starts PATENT @rricn.

MILTON CLARK, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

STORE SERi/IGE APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 309,199, dated December 16, 1884.

Application filed November 10, 1884.

To aZZ whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, MILTON CLARK, of Baltimore city, in the county of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Store-Service Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

Many varieties ofstore service apparatus are described in patentsand printed publications, and also many varieties of apparatus for receiving the ball, ear, or other conveyor from a track, and many varieties of apparatus for restoring the ball, car, or other conveyer to a track. Moreover, a single apparatus is described in sundry patents which performs both functions of receiver and restorer; but, so far as I am aware, I am the first to arrange any form of track with any form of apparatus which receives the car from a track and restores it to the same track from which it received it; and it is this novel arrangement which constitutes my invention.

To make my invention clearer, I will briefly describe three forms of apparatus which I disclaim: first, a movable track in line with a main track upon which the carriage runs from the main track, so that the conveyor can be lowered below the main track, as described in sundry patents, and in Knights Mechanical Dictionary under wireway, secondly, a movable track upon which the conveyor is placed by hand, in order that it may be raised and placed upon a track, as described in Patents Nos. 27 8,226, 291,280, and several others; thirdly, a movable track upon which the conveyor is received from one section of track, and by which the conveyor is restored to another section of track, as described in Patents Nos.27 l,000and 239,495. Myinventioi then, is limited to the difierence between my improved apparatus and the three forms of apparatus which I disclaim, and that difference is the arrangement of the track and apparatus which shall receive the conveyor from the track, as in the first class above disclaimed, and in addition shall restore the conveyer to the same section of track from which it was received,this latter being wholly. new with me, so far as Ihave any knowledge or information, and constituting a system radically different from any other known to me, in that the con- (No model.)

veyer passes from the track to the apparatus, and back again from the apparatus to the same track.

In the drawings I have shown the best form of my invention known to me, Figure 1 being an elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan.

A represents a track, and B the receiving and restoring apparatus of any suitable construction, for my invention does not relate to the form of track nor to the form of receiving and restoring apparatus, but simply to the novel arrangement of a track-conveyer and such apparatus as above explained.

The construction shown in the drawings is fully described in other applications for Letters Patent now pending, and therefore is not claimed herein, this application being for the novel system of receiving the conveyer from and returning it to the same section of track, as distinguished from receiving it from one section of track and returning it to another section of track, and the other pending applications being for sundry systems of which my novel system forms the basis. The conveyer 0 passes from track A onto the cord or movable track B, and is there arrested, and in most cases lowered, as shown in full lines, to bring it in convenient reach of the clerk or cashier. The cord B is then brought to the position shown in dotted lines, and the conveyer 0 thereby restored to the track A. The conveyor 0 may be of any suitable construction and be propelled ox cr track A in any usual way, my present invention not relating to these matters. In most cases the: track A will in practice be the main track, but it may be a siding or switch track.

\Vhile I prefer to use cord B, it will be obvious that a rigid movable track will be bettor for certain kinds of conveyers, and that a flexible tube should be used when the conveyer is a ball, the essential point being that the apparatus must receive the conveyer,whatever be its form, from the track A and lower it somewhat, and afterward return it to the track A. In most cases itis desirable to give considerable impetus to the-conveyer when it is returned to track A, and this is readily done, as will be clear from the drawings,without further description, the degree of impetus imparted depending mainly upon the length and inclination of the movable track B when g in position for use as a restorer; but when the \Vhat I claim as my invention is conveyer is moved by a motor which forms a In combination, the track, the conveyer, part of it, or by power otherwise applied to it, and the apparatus by which the conveyer is then there will be no need of giving any irnboth received from and restored to the track,

5 petus. all arranged and operating as set forth.

The chief advantage of the flexible track 13 I over any other form of movable track is that MILTON CLARK it arrests the eonveyer without shoel ,whereas \Vitnesses: if a rigid movable track be used some form of EDWARD E. ELLIS, 1o buffer will be required in practice. 0. E. DUFFY. 

